The advent of power modules has freed embedded engineers from the tedious task of designing power supplies. However, with so many types of power modules available, how do we approach selection in our daily circuit designs?
In today’s highly competitive market, rapid product design and development has become essential for staying ahead and seizing business opportunities. Modular development, platform development, and program-based approaches are increasingly embraced by system designers and hardware engineers under the pressure of tight project timelines.
Take, for example, modular mobile phones. Their development exemplifies how modularity streamlines production while maintaining functionality and adaptability.
No electronic product design can avoid the power supply stage. Just as a person’s heart is vital to their survival, the power supply is crucial to the success of a product. Poor power supply design can negatively impact performance and jeopardize the entire project. This complexity often frustrates engineers.
Enter the DC/DC power module, which has gained popularity in fields like communication, networking, industrial control, and railways due to its small size, excellent performance, ease of use, and cost-effectiveness.
But how do we select the right DC/DC power module from the myriad options? While the general selection criteria are well-known, let’s explore some common challenges encountered in embedded system design.
Firstly, isolation or non-isolation? This is a question every embedded system engineer ponders. Isolation serves two purposes: safety and noise reduction. Embedded systems often face multi-voltage environments, digital-analog mixing, and high-speed signals, making isolation crucial to minimize interference and enhance system stability. Industrial buses, in particular, require isolation to guard against surges, arcs, and lightning strikes, ensuring the core system remains safe.
Secondly, balancing performance versus cost is a perpetual dilemma. Engineers often struggle with whether to prioritize performance or cost. For DC/DC modules with identical input and output voltages, output power and operating temperature range are major cost influencers. Modules come in different grades—commercial (0~70°C), industrial (-40~85°C), automotive (-40~105°C), and military (-55~125°C)—each with varying material and manufacturing demands. Selecting a module with a narrower temperature range for cost reasons can lead to overheating if the operating conditions approach the limit. Derating—using a larger module—can mitigate this issue, though at a higher cost.
Thirdly, how much design margin should be reserved? A 20% margin is commonly recommended to ensure stability and reliability without excessive resource wastage. Fluctuating loads demand careful consideration of peak currents and their frequency to optimize reliability.
Fourthly, is a higher isolation voltage always better? While isolation voltage levels vary from 1000VDC to 6000VDC, higher levels mean better safety, reduced leakage current, and improved electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). However, they also raise costs. The choice depends on the application. General industries typically require 1500VDC or higher, whereas specialized sectors like medical devices, outdoor telecom base stations, and high-voltage applications demand even higher levels.
As embedded systems grow in complexity, the hardware burden has shifted toward software, allowing rapid prototyping and quick time-to-market. Correctly selecting DC/DC power modules can streamline development, boost reliability, and shave valuable weeks off the design process.
In conclusion, choosing the right power module involves balancing multiple factors: isolation, cost, power margins, and isolation voltage. By understanding these nuances, engineers can optimize their designs for both performance and budget constraints.
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